LA CAR REPORT— First it was Shelby Cobras in “Serpents in the Garden,” then came vintage European roadsters in “Spyders in the Garden.” This year, the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden in Arcadia, California let the original pony car run wild as it celebrated 50 years of the iconic Ford Mustang. Brian Kennedy reports on “Mustangs in the Garden,” with Gabriela Moya digitally documented the creatures in the natural habitat of the lush Arboretum.

LA CAR REPORT—$10,000. That’s the price the pundits were saying it would cost to replace the hybrid batteries when the second-generation Toyota Prius splashed onto the scene. Along with all the accolades (car of the year awards, etc), the technology was accompanied by fear and loathing—fear of the unknown and loathing over all the attention it was getting. Fast forward ten years, and hybrid battery repair can be now had for the cost of a major tune-up. How did it get from ‘$10,000′ to under $1000? This is the story.

LA CAR REPORT—I don’t know about you, but to me it seems like 2013 flew by awfully fast. Just as we are getting used to the new laws that took effect this year, it’s time to ring in a new year and take a look at the new California driving laws for 2014. Hundreds of new laws take effect each year, with a portion of them devoted to driver safety and driving-related matters, such as vehicle registration and licensing issues. There’s even a new law designed to make riding your bicycle a little safer.

LA CAR REPORT—“I do understand that for this sport, especially, that’s striving and pushing to come back, to be out there is important. . . . I do feel that some drivers may be better at this, but . . . it’s very important to get this sport the recognition that it deserves.”

LA CAR REPORT—Well, it appears as though we avoided the apocalypse that some seem to think would occur in 2012, but there’s something we can’t avoid – the new laws that apply to California drivers in 2013. Each year new laws are added and some are changed and, like anything else in life I guess, some things you hear seem to make perfect sense while others make you scratch your head and ask “What the heck were they thinking?”